Former Campaign Manager: Bachmann Must Win Iowa

Longtime GOP strategist Ed Rollins helped Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) win the vaunted Ames, Iowa straw poll in mid-August, only to step down from her campaign about three weeks later. That same day, Rollins offered a sober assessment, calling the 2012 primary a race between former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

He's still not doing his former boss any favors, telling USA Today that Bachmann has to win Iowa to become competitive -- the implication being that she's not competitive right now:

Veteran Republican strategist Ed Rollins, who recently resigned as Bachmann's campaign manager, says the results could signal "a drawn-out process" and extended primary fight between Perry and Romney, both of whom are likely to have ample money and other campaign resources.

But for Bachmann, he says, "The only way she can get back in this race is to somehow win Iowa," which holds the opening caucuses early next year.

Read the full story at USA Today

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Chris Good is a political reporter for ABC News. He was previously an associate editor at The Atlantic and a reporter for The Hill.